Synthesis of Fullerene by Pyrolysis of Acetylene in Thermal HF-Plasma

Carbon soot containing fullerene was continuously produced in volume by pyrolyzing acetylene in thermal HF-Plasma. The characteristics of the carbon soot and C60 were analyzed by thtransmission electron microscopy, UV/visible, IR and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the main ingredients of the carbon soot with size of about 25 nm are amorphous carbon, graphite and fullerene. The fullerene yield in carbon soot is about 2.5 g·h-1. Compared with the graphite arc discharge method, the acetylene thermal plasma method is a preferential one for synthesis of fullerene.